The Young and the Restless Commentary

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Confession is good for the soul...:
…except for Victor Newman who was voted “Most Soulless” by a jury of his peers. Sharon tried to confess her indiscretion with Austin to Nick, but N... Read the column now...

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Noah was busy, with Phyllis' assistance, making a surprise video for Nick's upcoming birthday party when Victoria came in. After telling Victoria about the surprise party, Phyllis invited her to come. Later, a secretary videotaped Noah's mock interview with Phyllis, who posed before the camera sideways as she commented that she had Nick's present in her belly. When Nick walked in, Noah and Phyllis quickly stopped their party-planning in order to keep the video project a secret. Noah left Phyllis' office and went to tape an interview with Victor in his office. Jack walked into Victor's office and first offered an unemotional videotaped birthday greeting, but Noah pressed for more after noting the Jack had once lived with Nick when Nick was a youngster. Jack, speaking into the camera, stated that Nick was a terrific kid and also related a humorous story about camping out years ago. Jack also stated that his life is ten times richer now that he is friends with Noah's grandfather.

Noah also taped a birthday greeting from Victoria, who rifled through Nick's desk as she recalled an incident from their youth when Nick stood up for her when some boys at school taunted her. When Nick returned to his office unexpectedly, Noah hid.

Gloria came to Phyllis' office and gave Phyllis a sales pitch for Perfume on the Glo. Jack walked in, and Phyllis told Jack about the idea, that's to be a tie-in with N.V.P. Later in the break room, Jack told Gloria that Perfume on the Glo sounded like a good idea. Gloria looked both surprised and pleased by Jack's favorable reaction. Gloria explained that the aromatic oils have synergistic qualities to calm, soothe or revive. When Jack later told Gloria he wanted to go ahead with the idea, Gloria said she'd get the facts and figures together. Gloria was even more surprised and pleased when Jack told her that Mr. Kim was wise to keep her with the company. Victor walked in, and overhearing Jack's comment, smiled approvingly.

In Victor's office, Jack approached Victor about leasing space that Newman owns in Savannah, at a substantial discount, for the expansion of N.V.P. due to the success of the Antigua spa. Victor said that he'd think about it, and he told Jack that he was surprised by Jack's approval of Gloria. Jack explained that he was trying to help provide for Gloria since his father had left her out of the will.

Victor told Gloria that he'd like to take her out to celebrate her deal with Jack. Gloria, still wary of Jack's changed behavior toward her, recounted Jack's evil deeds to Victor, telling him that Jack had thrown her out of the Abbott house. Victor defended Jack and told Gloria that Jack is a complicated man.

Gloria later told Phyllis that Jack bought the perfume deal. Gloria was still moved by Jack's kind comments, but Phyllis seemed puzzled. Phyllis later questioned Jack about his attitude shift toward Gloria. Jack told Phyllis that he'd decided to let go of his disappointments and that his future was now with N.V.P.

Noah also invited Gloria to offer a videotaped message to Nick. She was flattered and honored to be asked. Gloria, still surprised by Jack's approval of her deal, looked into the camera and said that she had had an amazing day because Jack had realized that she has talent. She also said that the Newmans were always nice to her and that Nick could have been a spoiled-rotten rich kid like . . . , but instead of stating Jack's name, she changed the subject and said that Nick got the best qualities from both of his parents. Noah later recounted to Phyllis the names of all of the people he had interviewed and that he had quickly hidden the camera, so Nick wouldn't see it.

When Nick invited Victoria to the surprise engagement party he's throwing for Phyllis, Victoria realized that Nick and Phyllis were planning parties for the same night. Nick also told Victoria about his wedding plans, and Victoria reminded him that he could not remarry in Wisconsin until six months after the divorce decree is final. Nick went to Phyllis' office and told her about the waiting period. Nick suggested the couple plead their case before a judge.

Carmen told Victoria that timing was critical for launching Beauty of Nature for the winter season, and then Carmen arranged for Dru to be away to handle the situation right away. Dru told Devon, via sign language that she hated leaving him.

Before Dru had to leave, she and Neil spent time teaching Devon how to sign. Devon even joked a bit. Later, after Dru had been called away on business, Neil gave Devon lessons about the connotations of signed words, which don't translate the same as slang terms used as pick-up lines. When Neil and Devon attempted to sign a full conversation, however, Devon became frustrated when he forgot the sign for the word he wanted to use. When Neil later tried to put off a business meeting in order to stay with Devon, Devon told him to go. When the phone rang, however, Devon couldn't get the TTY device to work without an operator's assistance, so he couldn't take the call from Neil's contractor. Neil also tried phoning, but Devon would not answer. Meanwhile, at home alone, Devon turned the volume all the way up on the stereo. When Dru arrived home, she quickly turned down the blaring stereo and comforted Devon, who was devastated to realize that he couldn't hear the music at all.

At the office, Dru explained Devon's situation to Victoria, but Victoria said that the promotion needed attention right away and that Dru would need to work with Carmen. Dru approached a wary Carmen and asked for a cease-fire. Carmen said she'd take care of business with Dru, but that she'd prefer very little personal contact with her. However, Carmen had arranged for Dru to fly to New York without consulting her, so Dru could shoot a promo ad.

In the break room, Carmen was approached by a miffed Dru, who complained about being forced to leave town. Dru told Carmen that she couldn't leave Devon. They argued a bit about personal problems interfering with business. Their argument escalated and Dru called Carmen a bitch. Dru then grabbed Carmen's arm. Dru told Carmen that she was sending her out of town, so she could make a play for Neil again. Dru wrapped her arm around Carmen's neck, roughed her up a bit and shoved her. Carmen told Dru that she'd call the police, and then she quickly left. Carmen later called the police and reported the altercation. However, police told Carmen that since there were no witnesses and no evidence of the fight, there was nothing the authorities could do. However, neither Carmen nor Dru are aware that Noah's video camera, hidden under a coat in the break room, appeared to have captured the altercation on tape.

Later, Victor thought of Jack's behavior changes and remembered the day at the hospital when he signed for the loan. Victor later summoned Jack and told him that since he'd just given Jack $250,000,000, he could not assist him with the Savannah property.

Michael tells Lauren that Paul knows where Sheila is. Lauren doesn't understand how she can move around while being a wanted woman, and Michael tells her she's using the alias Lauren Scott. Lauren thinks this means she's still obsessed with her and Scott. Michael says that he will keep their family safe no matter what. Gloria talks about getting her own place and says she knows she has overstayed her welcome. She tells them about Jack liking perfume on the Glo, and Michael tells her about his grandmother. Lauren wants to start a memorial fund for his grandmother. They talk about going to Lamaze classes and Lauren wants to go with Nick and Phyllis because that would be more fun. Michael leaves and Lauren finds Jack's emails in Michael's briefcase. She asks Michael about them and he says he got them for a source he can't disclose. Lauren asks Gloria if she's the source and she says yes and says it's all her fault. Later, Lauren overhears Gloria on the phone telling Michael she protected his secret.

Nick tells Phyllis that his lawyer is working on getting the waiver so they can get married. Phyllis invites Carmen to Nick's party and assures Carmen that Dru won't be there. Carmen tells her what happened in the break room with Dru. Phyllis agrees that it's inexcusable. Sharon tells Dru that she got a present for Nick because of Noah and Noah tells Sharon that Phyllis is really cool and he likes her a lot. Sharon wishes he didn't like Phyllis quite so much. Noah asks Sharon to leave a video message for Nick and she does. Sharon wishes Nick a happy birthday and Nick invites her to the engagement party but she declines. Phyllis shows Noah how to put the video together for Nick and they work on it together. When Noah leaves, Phyllis sees video of Carmen and Dru that Noah accidentally shot. She calls Carmen and gives her a copy of the footage. Nick tells Phyllis they have the hearing date at three. She gets him to push it back because she isn't done helping Noah. She finishes and they go.

Dru tells Neil that she got into it with Carmen because she was trying to force Dru out of town. Neil tells Dru that Devon is starting school again, and he thinks it's a good thing. Dru finds Carmen and tries to apologize, but Carmen walks away. Dru chases her down and apologizes, Carmen tells her to stay away from her. Dru tells Neil that she tried to apologize to Carmen and he gets angry with her. She says that Carmen intentionally tries to provoke Dru so Carmen can call the police. Neil asks Carmen about what happened and Carmen says Dru is lucky there's no proof, otherwise she'd be in a jail cell. Neil tells Dru that he rescheduled her interview. He goes to tell Carmen but she says it doesn't matter. Two police officers come to Newman and arrest Dru.

Lauren was furious after overhearing Gloria telling Michael she'd taken the blame for being his source about Jack's Jabot takeover bid. Lauren went to Crimson Lights to confront Kevin, who told her that it hadn't been Michael's idea. That didn't help, since Lauren knew that Michael had been blinded by his desire to go after Jack. Michael and Kevin talked, and Michael asked Kevin to keep Lauren at the coffee house until he could get there. Meanwhile, Paul could see that Lauren was upset. Though she didn't give him the full details, she did tell Paul that Michael, Gloria, and Kevin had been lying to her about something that could get Michael in serious trouble.

Michael argued before the judge on Dru's behalf. Carmen and District Attorney Bardwell insisted that Dru was a continuing threat to Carmen and had violated the terms of her probation. The judge was inclined to agree, but Neil made a plea on Dru's behalf. He explained how Devon had nearly died and needed his mother at home as he coped with his sudden loss of hearing. Dru had been distraught about the idea of leaving him. She'd only confronted Carmen about being asked to go out of town during a family crisis. She'd never meant to make Carmen feel threatened. The judge was moved by Neil's argument and set bail for $25,000 so Dru could be home with her family. Carmen was visibly annoyed that Dru wasn't going to jail.

Daniel and Lily tried to talk Devon into going to the two separate Nick and Phyllis parties, but Devon insisted that he wasn't up to explaining his health issues over and over to people. He'd rather stay home and watch a movie. Lily didn't want to leave him alone, since none of them knew where Dru and Neil were, so Daniel agreed to go to the party without her.

Nick and Phyllis tried to get a waiver from a judge so they didn't have to wait six months after Nick's divorce decree to get married. The judge wasn't the same one who'd waived the waiting period for Brad, however, so she denied their request. Phyllis wasn't happy, but she handled the news okay. When Nick took her by Crimson Lights, she pretended to be surprised by her party, never telling Nick that Sharon had let the party plans slip.

Nikki came home from Wyoming and wanted to know how much Victor had been working. He insisted that he'd only been coming into the office with Nick and wasn't overdoing it. Jack said he'd been around a lot, but he agreed that Victor was doing well. When they ran into Sharon and Noah, Noah told Nikki about the tape he'd made for Nick. Sharon said she'd catch up with them later at Nick's birthday party. But she privately told Jack that all she wanted to do was go home and go to bed. Later, however, Jack was on a business call when Sharon came back to Newman after going home. She'd changed her mind and brought wine and glasses for them to have a romantic evening together.

When Phyllis asked Daniel where Lily was, Daniel said she hadn't wanted to leave Devon at home alone, and none of them knew where Dru and Neil were. Phyllis laughed and said Dru was probably in jail. Daniel called Lily and told her that her mother may have been arrested again. Lily didn't tell Devon. When Neil and Dru came home, the kids noticed how distracted Dru was, but she insisted that nothing was wrong.

At the party, Nick gave Phyllis a ruby engagement ring. While everyone was celebrating, Michael arrived. He tried to talk to Lauren, but she told him to give her some space. She couldn't easily forgive the way they'd all been lying to her, much less the illegal things he'd done. When Gloria tried to talk to Michael, he brushed her off. She told Kevin it was all her fault, but Kevin said he and Michael had done everything willingly. Later, Lauren was trying to leave with Paul when she suddenly collapsed, saying that something was wrong with her baby.

The doctor's tell Lauren that she's having contractions, but that they might be able to stop them with drugs. When the doctor's let Michael see Lauren, Lauren calms down. She finally falls asleep and is relaxed. After a few hours of sleep, the doctor's say that Lauren's contractions have stopped. When Lauren wakes up, she is relived to hear the news. She tells Phyllis, Paul, Kevin and Gloria to head home. As everyone is about to leave, Lauren screams. Something is wrong. The doctor says this time Lauren is going into labor and they won't be able to stop it.

Brad and Victoria are excited to be home alone. After they make love, Victoria gets a phone call from her broker concerning the reliquary. Brad is upset to hear that Victoria is still interested in finding out about this work of art. He worries that their family will be in danger again. He tells Victoria to call her broker back and tell him that she's not interested. She tells him not to tell her what to do.

Colleen takes her grandmother to the coffeehouse. Her Art History teacher shows up and gives her a guilt trip about helping him with an art project. Colleen asks J.T. if he would mind taking her grandmother home. They agree to meet up later for dinner.

J.T. wonders why Victoria is at work so late. She says that she needs to be away from Brad right now. Victoria confides in J.T. about looking for the reliquary. J.T. says that he may have to go, but receives a call from Colleen canceling their dinner plans.

Devon can tell something is wrong with Drucilla and Neil. Drucilla decides that she needs to see her therapist; she is feeling out of control. Neil is supportive of Drucilla's decision, and they agree to go together. Drucilla tells Lily that she doesn't want Devon to know she was arrested. When Dru and Neil leave, Devon tells Lily that he wants to know what is going on. He heard Lily mouth the words "lawyer." Devon gets upset that they are treating him like a baby. He says that he is a part of the family too. Lily ends up telling Devon the truth about Drucilla. When Dru and Neil return home, Devon hugs Dru. He tells her that he won't let her go to jail.

After spending a restless night in the hospital, Paul, Phyllis, Gloria, and Kevin awoke in the waiting room hoping for good news about Lauren. Although the doctors had been able to stop her labor pains during the night, when she again went into labor, the doctors had to deliver her son. The Baldwin baby couldn't breathe on his own and was rushed to intensive care, while the doctors finally got Lauren's hemorrhaging under control. Gloria tried to minimize the effect that stress might have had on Lauren, then she went to the chapel with Phyllis to pray for the baby. Michael crawled in Lauren's hospital bed to keep her calm and reassure her that their baby would be fine.

Carmen went to see Victoria, who was having a lucky day even though it was Friday the thirteenth. Carmen, however, had a grim proposition. She no longer felt safe at work because of Dru and wanted her fired. Victoria tried to talk Carmen out of such a drastic measure, but Carmen said either Dru went or Newman would be hearing from Carmen's attorneys.

Drucilla didn't want to go to work because she was embarrassed about having been dragged out of there in handcuffs by the police. Neil reminded her of the things they'd talked about in her therapy session. They were supposed to move forward and not dwell in the past. He also told Drucilla that she looked great. Drucilla was truly remorseful about all the trouble she'd caused and was also grateful that Neil seemed to be more understanding of the things that had been driving her. The two of them left together for work, with Dru's confidence bolstered by Neil.

Drucilla went to see Victoria to apologize for what had happened the day before and to get busy with her Beauty of Nature work. Victoria had to give her the bad news that she couldn't work at Newman. However, Human Resources had agreed that Dru could be on an unpaid leave of absence. Maybe one day, when things calmed down, she could return to work at Newman. Dru was crushed to be losing her job, but she understood that Victoria had no choice.

Neil began to look at Carmen in a new way when they discussed that she'd turned over the tape of Dru's attack to the district attorney. Carmen insisted that she was only protecting herself because Dru was completely out of control. Later, Dru told Neil that she had to pack her office and be out of the building within the hour. Neil helped her. After Dru got on the elevator, Neil ran into Carmen, who tried to share some of their usual flirtatious banter. Neil was having none of it. He said he was beginning to understand why Dru felt the way she did about Carmen, who wasn't as nice as she pretended to be. Carmen insisted that having Dru away was better not only for her, but for Neil, who'd been at his best when Dru was in Europe. Neil said that both he and his wife would be steering clear of Carmen in the future.

Colleen wasn't having as lucky a day as her stepmother Victoria. Her car battery was dead, she broke a heel on her boot, and she'd left her wallet at home. Jana offered her free coffee at Crimson Lights, but when Dr. Korbel came in and startled Colleen, she spilled the coffee all over her new laptop. Dr. Korbel brought his from the car so they could use it to work. Victoria arrived and Colleen introduced her stepmother and the professor. She felt a little jealous when Dr. Korbel was more gracious to Victoria than he'd ever acted with her. He was also intrigued when he accidentally saw some photos Victoria had of artwork. He said he'd like to see the Newman collection sometime, and Victoria agreed to show it to him.

After Dr. Korbel left, Colleen wondered if it was only coincidence that Victoria had been the only one able to pick her up and just happened to have pictures of medieval art with her. Victoria said the first was coincidence, but not the second. Colleen said that Dr. Korbel was going to help her research the Grugeon collection. Victoria and Colleen both hoped their efforts would help them close in on whoever was interested in the Grugeon reliquary and how that information could be used to protect their family. Later, when they went to the dry cleaners to pick up an item that Victoria thought was lost, her luck continued when she found a twenty-dollar bill on the ground. But when the two women came back to their car, they found its windows shattered, and Victoria said that her luck seemed to have run out.